LIFE SMILE - Strategies for MarIne Litter and Environmental prevention of sea pollution in coastal areas LIFE12 ENV/IT/000289

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1 LIFE SMILE - Strategies for MarIne Litter and Environmental prevention of sea pollution in coastal areas LIFE12 ENV/IT/ Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data Read more Contact details: Contact person: Ilaria Fasce Tel: Fax: ilaria.fasce@regione.liguria.it Project description: Background Marine litter is a problem that affects many parts of Europe and can cause a wide spectrum of environmental, economic, health and cultural impacts. There are a variety of reasons why the phenomenon occurs, including: poor solid waste management practices; a lack of infrastructure; human activities; low levels of public awareness about the potential consequences of littering; gaps in adequate legal and enforcement systems; and a lack of financial resources. Marine litter problems around Italy s Ligurian Sea have also been exacerbated by changing weather patterns, as heavier rainfall during spring and autumn washes more litter into the marine environment. Cleaning up the litter would provide clear environmental benefits. Objectives The SMILE project s main aim was to reduce and recover marine litter in coastal areas. This would be achieved through the development of governance processes and implementing an innovative catching mechanism for marine litter in a pilot area. All work aimed to contribute to the region s integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) operations. Specific planned actions included:

2 Implementation of an integrated approach to solid waste management including specific activities related to marine litter in waste management strategies; Extension of existing ICZM operations further inland; Standardisation and harmonisation of related monitoring programmes; Development of governance processes, at local and regional level, for promoting more shared policies and actions in coastal areas; Implementation of a catching mechanism to reduce and prevent the transport of solid wastes from river basins, including a cost/benefit analysis of the system; and Raising awareness of environmental stewardship amongst sea and coastal users in order to improve the efficacy of existing law and regulations in addressing marine litter problems. Results The SMILE project demonstrated a successful approach for reducing marine litter, through an integrated waste management system involving multiple stakeholders and interventions at coastal and inland areas and which can be easily implemented by municipalities. The SMILE system is made up of: A Photo Guide to facilitate the classification of waste items per type, nature and use, which allows to trace the source of the waste item and, consequently, to adopt targeted actions to reduce its dispersion. The Trashpic app enabling citizens to report abandoned waste in the pilot area and track its clean-up, which led to 98 items (467 kg) of litter being collected; An Environmental Governance System - based on the ISO Standard - to improve the management of activities on land that can impact on the dispersion of litter in the marine and coastal environment; Establishment of a Working Group with local authorities along the Maremola river to define a new integrated system for preventing and managing marine litter; A Check List and a technical document to guide public administrations in the assignment of appropriate contracts for urban waste management and collection services to avoid marine litter; and An experimental Litter Traps System composed of two nets positioned at the Maremola river mouth, which collected 356 items (6 565 kg) of litter; These actions yielded the following outstanding quantitative results: Waste collection in the Maremola river basin increased by 15.5% (target 5%); Quantity of marine litter correctly collected increased by 67% (target 10%); Reduction of marine litter in pilot area by 30.5% on the beach and by 41% in the shallow waters (target 30%); and Annual reduction of litter collected by the litter traps - bottom and surface nets - by 72% (target 25%). The project implemented monitoring, analysis, governance and communication

3 activities and involved a wide spectrum of actors: citizens, tourists, students, enterprises, public administrations, regional and national agencies for the environmental protection, waste management companies. SMILE effectively demonstrated that prevention, implemented simultaneously on the coast and inland, can reduce marine litter. The project is relevant for improved implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC), the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (COM(2015)614) at national and regional levels. Furthermore, the SMILE approach could be replicated in many similar territorial contexts across Europe. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section). Environmental issues addressed: Themes Waste - Waste reduction - Raw material saving Water - Water resources protection Habitats - Marine Waste - Waste recycling Keywords waste management coastal area waste collection monitoring system marine pollution marine environment Target EU Legislation Waste Directive 2008/98 - Waste and repealing certain Directives (Waste Framework Directive) ( COM(2015)614 - "Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy" ( ) Marine environment and Coasts Directive 2008/56 - Framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (M... Natura 2000 sites Not applicable

4 Beneficiaries: Coordinator Type of organisation Description Partners Regione Liguria Regional authority The Environment Department of Liguria Region is a public sector body whose mandate covers the protection and sustainable management of regional environmental resources. It has a key role in coordinating all the monitoring and managing activities regarding coastal environment. ARPA Liguria-Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell Ambiente Ligure, Italy Comune di Pietra Ligure, Italy Liguria Ricerche S.p.A., Italy Legambiente Liguria Onlus, Italy OLPA Osservatorio Ligure Pesca e Ambiente, Italy Administrative data: Project reference LIFE12 ENV/IT/ Duration 01-JUL-2013 to 30-SEP Total budget 1,186, EU contribution 570, Piemonte(Italia) Valle d'aosta(italia) Liguria(Italia) Lombardia(Italia) Trentino-Alto Adige(Italia) Veneto(Italia) Friuli-Venezia Giulia(Italia) Emilia-Romagna(Italia) Project location Toscana(Italia) Umbria(Italia) Marche(Italia) Lazio(Italia) Campania(Italia) Abruzzo(Italia) Molise(Italia) Puglia(Italia) Basilicata(Italia) Calabria(Italia) Sicilia(Italia) Sardegna(Italia) Read more: Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 10/2015" (266 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No

5 Title: " del progetto LIFE+ SMILE, n 7/2015" (324 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 9/2015" (287 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 8/2015" (321 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 1/2013" (185 KB) Year: 2013 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 1/2014" (153 KB) Year: 2014 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 1/2015" (328 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 2/2014" (243 KB) Year: 2014 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 2/2015" (333 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 3/2014" (168 KB) Year: 2014 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 3/2015" (262 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del projetto Life+ SMILE, n 4/2014" (759 KB) Year: 2014 Editor: SMILE No of pages: 4 Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 4/2015" (205 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto LIFE+ SMILE, n 5/2015" (166 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No Title: " del progetto Life+ SMILE, n 6/2015" (412 KB) Year: 2015 Editor: SMILE No of pages: 5 Project web site Project's website Project web site - 2 Link to the project's application Project web site - 2 Project's Facebook page Publication: After-LIFE Title: After-LIFE Communication Plan No of Communication Plan pages: 8 Publication: Layman report Title: Layman report No 0

6 Publication: Layman report Publication: Technical report Title: Layman report (Italian version) No of pages: 20 Title: Project's Final technical report (Italian version) Year: 2016 Editor: Regione Liguria No of pages: 80 Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data Read more